


What If

by Wizzy



Series: Love Is A Crazy Thing (Haikyuu Love Stories) [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fukuroudani, Karasuno, Motherly Friends, Nekoma, Possibly Unrequited Love, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-03 01:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5272007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizzy/pseuds/Wizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma's never been one to show much interest in anything. Never has he even shown the slightest interest in girls. But there's one that is something special to him. He wouldn't dare share his feelings; not when she's always acted like a mother towards him and his teammates. But sometimes, sometimes he can't help but wonder... what if she loved me?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Kenma Kozume had never made friends easily, so he'd never had to deal with moments like this one. As their way of saying goodbye to their third years and their beloved manager, the boys of Nekoma's volleyball club had thrown a small party in the clubroom.

Tears were shed by two of the three oldest boys; the captain being the only to keep himself together. Though few tears were shed for them. No, those senpais hadn't been all that kind to their kouhais. In all honesty, Kenma was happy to see them leave, as they'd been especially hard on him.

But as he thought about their manager leaving, it almost brought tears to his eyes. And Kenma wasn't the only one... His senpais that would be remaining were all teary-eyed. Yes, even their new captain Tetsuro Kuroo. And even Taketora Yamamoto, who was terrified of girls, managed a tearful hug and a sniffled “I'll miss you.”

Once the tears had been cried, the boys decided to play one last game together. Senpai versus Kouhai... or the older half of the team against the younger half. In the end, Team Senpai won.

As the third years left, the lovely lady that was their manager stayed just a bit longer. She had a few words for her darling team.

First she turned to the captain. “Tetsu... you take good care of your kouhai, you hear me?” she playfully scolded the boy. “If I hear that you've been mistreating them, I'll have to give you a good ol' kick in the behind.”

She turned to the rest of the second years. “That goes for you boys too.” She gave a small laugh and turned to speak specifically to one second year. “Yaku, I'm counting on you to look after everyone. Make sure Koutaro doesn't get Tetsu involved in too much mischief.” The Libero nodded. “I'm sorry I never had the time to find a new manager for you guys, but you'll be okay for a little while until you find one.”

Her gaze shifted to the three first years. “Shohei, the next time I see you, I expect to hear some actual words out of you. And Tora, you better have gotten better at talking with girls, you hear me?” she said teasingly as she ruffled the two boys' hair.

Last she turned to little Kenma, his heart skipping a beat out of pure nervousness. She embraced him for just a moment; she hadn't received a hug from him earlier like she had everyone else. “Don't be so shy, Kozume.” His heart sank a little hearing her call him by his last name. She called nearly everyone else on the team by first name or by a nickname... but not him. “You're such a sweet boy, so don't spend your life hiding away.”

Slowly her gaze shifted over the team gathered around and her smile faltered. All through this time, she'd been the one to stay strong, but now her own tears broke through. “I'll miss you all so much,” she cried as she was swept into a large group hug.

Ever since she started as manager, she'd been like a mother to all of them. When their senpais were bossy and mean, she'd smack them over the head and tell them to stop being jerks. When their uniforms tore right before a match, she'd patch it up just in time to save the day. When girlfriends dumped them, she was right there with a shoulder to cry on. And on days that lunch was forgotten, she'd always have an extra (or she'd share hers if needed.)

Yes, their manager was always there, always looking after them. So much so that she'd been dubbed the 'Mama' of the team. And now as she was preparing to leave the team she'd devoted her life to, it was safe to say that more than one heart was breaking. Among them was the heart of a certain setter who'd grown to love her not as a motherly figure, but as the beautiful young woman she was.

 

_Present Day..._

Kenma woke to find that his dreams had been invaded yet again. It hadn't happened often, but he'd dreamed of her again.

He let out sigh. It had been almost a year since the last time he'd seen her. She'd said that she'd come back and visit sometime, but she never had the time. Perhaps it was better that way. He needed to forget his feelings for her anyway; a guy like him could never win the heart of someone like her.

He slipped out of bed and quickly got ready for the day. Today marked the first day of the second half of the summer training camp that would be held at Shinzen High School. This wasn't any time to be reminded of old feelings. But while he showered, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to his dream of her.

 

As the practices matches began, his mind finally started to feel more at ease. He'd never really found much enjoyment in volleyball; it was just something he did to pass the time, but right now he was thankful for it. Though no distraction works every time, so a few times his mind wandered back and he nearly missed the toss.

As Nekoma's match ended in their victory, he took advantage to try and clear his mind. This was no time for distraction. But just as he was finally making progress, the very loud voice of Bokuto rang out through the gym. “Mama-senpai!”

Kenma's head snapped in the direction of the ace's voice. It couldn't have been... right? Sure enough, standing there in the gym doorway was the woman he'd fallen for during his first year... the senpai of his captain and the former team manager. In that moment, all efforts to forget his feelings were thrown out the window as his heart began racing and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.


	2. Welcome Home

The moment I'd entered the gym, a familiar voice shouted out my arrival. So much for making a quiet entrance. Almost instantly I found myself trapped in a crushing hug from none other than Bokuto. Ever since we'd met during a training camp during his first year, he'd almost been like one of my boys. Which was no surprise, considering how close he and Kuroo were.

“Koutaro, loosen the deathgrip,” I told the energetic boy, laughing to myself. His grip on me was so tight I could barely breath. But I couldn't blame him for being happy to see me. It'd been a year since the last time I'd seen him after all.

Bokuto frowned slightly before releasing me. “Did you see how amazing I was in that match?” There was his smile again.

I wished I could have said yes to that, but that would be a lie. “I just got here, Koutaro.” In fact, I didn't even stop to change out of my work clothes before coming here. “So I'm afraid I didn't get to see.” He started to frown again, but my next words brought an even bigger grin to his face. “So you'll just have to be awesome in the next one too.”

Bokuto swept me into another crushing hug. “It's good to see you again, Ren,” the familiar voice of Coach Nekomata said to me as he and the rest of the Nekoma team approached us. Upon seeing them, Bokuto released me. “I'm glad you could make it.”

“How could I pass up a chance to see my boys again?” I reached over and ruffled Yaku's hair. He was the shortest one standing closest to me. Of the boys that I knew anyway. Near him was a boy that was a bit shorter, but he was a total stranger to me. “Still not any taller, Yaku?” I teased the boy. I was just a bit taller (maybe only by a centimeter or two, but that's still more); exactly like when I'd left.

Behind Yaku, a light haired boy made some comment about height that I didn't quite catch. However, I did see that it earned the boy a kick in the behind from the third year Libero. It made me laugh. “You must be Lev.”

While I'd been away, the current third years had kept me updated on what was going on with them. One of the things I'd heard about was a Middle Blocker with very little skill who claim he'd be the ace. Poor Yaku had gone on several small rants about him and the training he had to put him through. After all of it, I even began to feel sorry for the poor stranger.

As the tall boy began to speak, my gaze fell on one member of the team and I felt my eyes go wide. I couldn't stop myself from blurting out my thoughts. “Kozume, what did you do to your hair?!” I stared at shy setter, unable to believe what I was seeing.

His hair was blonde. It hadn't been like that when I'd left. I approached him and held a few strands of his hair in my fingers. Judging by the the looks of it, he'd had to have done it around the beginning of the recent school year and hadn't bothered with touching up the roots of it.

I shot a scolding glance at the team's captain. “Tetsu... Why is it that I've heard nearly every detail of your life since I've left but you didn't dare mention this to me?” It wasn't quite yelling, but it definitely had that angry mother sort of tone to it. You know, that voice your mom always used when you were in big trouble.

The bedheaded boy said nothing. He knew he'd screwed up and that's what mattered.

Letting out a sigh, I looked at each of the team's members. The ones I knew hadn't changed. Outside of Kenma's change in hair color anyway. And as for the newbies, I could already tell they were an interesting bunch.

“Who is she?” one of the boys, my guess was a first year, asked. He was short with dark hair and stood next to a tall boy who was probably another first year. Both looked to me and then to their coach.

“Ren Miyazaki,” I said, bowing politely.

Kuroo put an arm around my shoulder in a protective way. “Or better known as Mama-senpai,” he added. “She was the best manager Nekoma's ever had. Even her senpais respected her.”

“And you better be respectful to her too or you'll be sorry,” Yaku said, adding to Kuroo's words. “But don't be afraid to ask her for help. That's why she's here. That and she adores us.”

That was when Yamamoto joined in. “And don't go getting ideas just because she's cute.” Yamamoto made an X with his arms. “Off-limits.” The three boys gave the first years very intimidating glares.

As sweet as it was for them to act so protective, it was a bit too much. So I gave the current captain and the second year a light smack on the back of the head. Yaku was the good one, so he was safe this time. “How many times have I told you boys to behave yourselves?” I scolded. “There's no reason for you to be threatening the first years.”

As the two apologized, some voices pulled my attention away. Turning my head, I saw the other teams' managers waving to me. “Hey Yukie, Eri, Mako!” I called as I waved back. “I'll deal with you boys later.” Giving them a quick wave and wishing the boys good luck with their next match, I ran off to catch up with my old friends.


End file.
